


Legacy. What Is A Legacy?

by BrownieFox



Category: Sonic the Hedgehog (Video Games), Sonic the Hedgehog: Forces
Genre: Gen, also knuckles n silver bonding, also neither is amy, can we talk about this?, listen knuckles was the leader, mostly knuckles introspective, ocs aren't there long, takes place three months into eggman taking over
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-19
Updated: 2019-09-19
Packaged: 2020-10-24 05:07:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,463
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20700431
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BrownieFox/pseuds/BrownieFox
Summary: 'It's planting seeds in a garden you never get to see'.Silver wants to grow some plants for the resistance, and Knuckles decided to help out





	Legacy. What Is A Legacy?

He wasn’t meant for this.

That was the first thought that came to Knuckles mind when they told him to lead the Resistance. He was meant for solitude, for being alone on his island, watching over the Master Emerald. But he also recognized that this was bigger than him, bigger than the Master Emerald and his duties as a guardian, and Sonic was gone. He was a pessimist, and though some had hung onto the hope Sonic would reappear, Knuckles had to live in their reality that the last time he’d seen Sonic was months ago, giving just a grunt as a goodbye.

To the surprise if everyone - very much including himself - Knuckles wasn’t just  _ good  _ at being a leader, he was  _ great.  _ He could direct groups, plan meeting, talk strategy, delegate. He stood in the place meant for Sonic, a pillar in the desolate world, and gave hope to the mobians that were still free. It made Knuckles wonder sometimes at night, when he wasn’t too exhausted and just fell asleep, if he really was made for being a Guardian. Was it a flaw in himself? Was there truly still meant to be others on the island with him? How would he deal with being the lone guardian again after this was all over?

Such thoughts were left unresolved and pushed well to the back of Knuckles mind as he got some much-needed sleep and awoke the next morning ready to be the leader that the resistance needed, even if he was the wrong color and species.

Three months in, and their situation of fighting a losing battle was becoming more and more apparent. But what could they do but fight? What could they do but hope that perhaps there was still a chance to turn the tide? Knuckles knew he himself would go down swinging to his final breath.

He was observing a map detailing Eggman’s spread of power when Silver entered the room. Knuckles wasn’t in the main war room this late at night, instead down in one of the older rooms where he could find some time to himself. A good leader he may be, but crowds still made him anxious and uneasy. This room was so old that most people didn’t bother with it, its supposedly once electric door needing to be pushed open by someone with a rather large amount of strength.

Said door became encased in a thin teal energy and, with a sound that made Knuckles cringe, slid open to reveal the resident time traveler on the other side, looking a bit sheepish and nervous. Silver often looked like that, though, so it was hard to tell what he wanted. Not that Knuckles had ever been good at reading people. 

“Hi Knuckles.” Silver scratched the back of his neck with an apologetic smile.

“You need the room?” Knuckles asked as he grabbed the hologram projector from the table, turning off the map. 

Silver was an odd one. Knuckles hadn’t known the kid well before this whole doomsday scenario, and still was unsure what to make of him. He loved being around people and talking to them, but like Knuckles he liked to hide away in this room. Was it because he wasn’t used to people either? It was a depressing thought, as Knuckles wouldn’t wish the loneliness that permeated through his past on anyone.

“No, no, I was actually looking for you.” Silver explained, as much as that counted for an explanation. “I’ve been thinking about our food supplies recently.”

“Please tell me we’re not running low.” Knuckles sighed, turning his attention to Silver and ready for the worst. But Silver shook his head.

“No, in fact the last scouting mission that came back was really successful. Even if we get a lot more refugees, we should be able to feed everyone for one, maybe even two whole weeks.” Silver assured Knuckles, looking genuinely pleased with the news. 

Silver had proven himself to be an invaluable asset throughout this, even if his concept of a good supply of rations was drastically different from everybody’s else’s. Still, he knew how to ration, the best places to look for things, how to get around decimated buildings. The one time Knuckles had gone along with him, Silver had made the unsettling observation that the destroyed city reminded him of home. It had sat heavy in Knuckles’ stomach and had ate at him for days afterwards.

“Well?” Knuckles prompted.

“I, uh, there’s this project I was thinking of. And I need your help with it. C’mon, I’ll show you.” Silver gestured for Knuckles to come out of the room and with a weary sigh Knuckles did so. 

The two of them journeyed farther into the Resistance base, where the original metal gave way to much more patch-work hallways, dug out when the original rooms became too full and expansion had become a requirement. Two other mobians passed them, a brief look of excitement crossing their faces before being replaced by disappointment. Silver noticeably avoided looking at them. Knuckles wasn’t entirely sure what it was about Silver that made it so easy to mistake him as Sonic if you were looking real quick, but even he himself would sometimes look at Silver and for a split second thing that somehow, Sonic was back.

But it was always just Silver.

Silver turned into one of room, opening the door again with his telekinetic powers. Knuckles rolled his eyes a bit but didn’t say anything. The floor of the room was unfinished, just slightly-damp dirt. Silver flicked a lightswitch, and the dangling bulbs on the ceiling lit up with an odd purple light. The white hedgehog stood in the center of the room, arms out in a kind of ‘tada!’ gesture. Knuckles was unimpressed.

“What’s this?” Knuckles asked when Silver just stayed looking hopeful and nervous.

“It’s, uh, a garden?” Silver didn’t sound super certain of that fact, nudging some of the dirt with the tip of his shoe.

“It looks like dirt.” Knuckles pointed out. Silver nodded.

“Well, I’ve been thinking about the scouting missions. Eventually, we’re going to run out of food nearby. Which, it’s not all that hard to look a bit farther, but then we’d have to use smaller teams in order to keep a low profile, and even with my telekinesis, there’s only so much I’d be able to bring back. So… gardens. And, from what Amy was saying, we’d have to start now.” 

Oh, Knuckles understood Silver’s hesitance now, his anxiousness. Because gardens was a long term solution. It was admitting that this was a long term problem, that they’d be planning to stay here, fighting Eggman slowly, for months, years even. It had a kind of finality to it, to making this place from a base of operations into the closest thing they may ever have to home for the rest of their lives. Not for the first time, and certainly not for the last, Knuckles yearned to be back on his island, lounging in front of the Master Emerald, picking the plentiful fruit from the island, making sure the traps were still in working order. 

“You want my permission to go through with it.” Knuckles finally put together and Silver nodded, but the nod came with a shrug. Of course there was something more to it, nothing could be easy or simple these days. 

“I don’t know how to garden.” Silver didn’t meet Knuckles eyes, instead looking down at the dirt, kicking at a bit more of it.

“I would’ve thought a garden’d be useful in… your time.” Silver didn’t take kindly to people calling it ‘The Post-Apocalyptic Hellscape’, no matter how apt the description may be. 

“It’s hard enough finding enough water to live with, much less enough to water some plants even if you did find some non-molten ground to plant seeds in.” Silver said in a rehearsed way that made it clear he had given it a lot of thought. “And… I don’t want to bother Amy. I know she’s good with plants, but… I don’t think she sees me when she looks at me. Not these days, anyway. And then she just gets all sad, and…” Silver trailed off. Knuckles sighed again, folding his arms and walking farther into the room, kneeling down. 

He could feel Silver’s eyes on him as he grabbed a handful of dirt, turning it over in his hand. He was no expert, but he had learned how to distinguish good dirt for planting crops from bad dirt. It looked okay, as far as he could tell, but maybe things were different here, off of Angel Island. Even if Silver didn’t want to ask Amy for help, Knuckles probably would consult her about it. He understood the hedgehog’s hesitance to even be in the same room as Amy. She was holding up better than Tails, better than any of them had expected her too, but there was still this sadness that just didn’t fit her, and it was never sharper than when Silver was around with his similarity to Sonic.

“I know best how to grow the plants from my island.” Knuckles said as he straightened up. “I’ll need to make a trip back there.”

“So you’ll do it? You teach me how to garden?” 

Knuckles was the leader of the resistance. There was a million and one things that he should be working on right now. But that’s what the others were for, wasn’t it? For helping him out, for filling in for him when he needed a moment away, for making sure he wasn’t the lone pillar that the rest of the mobians seemed to think he was supposed to be?

“Yeah, I’ll help.”

oOo

Knuckles wasn’t good at geography.

Oh, he was plenty familiar with the shape of the world’s continents, how big the oceans were, where to find little dotted islands in the mass of blue. But names to them that weren’t ones he’d made up when he was young, looking off the edge of Angel Island? Those left his mind just as quickly as he was told them. He’d improved in small bits over the past three months, as the names of places became more important knowledge, but he was still rather lacking

It was a ways until they got to the coast, and there they’d have to take a boat farther into the sea. If anybody else were to set out to the island, they would have to travel almost to the next continent, but Knuckles feels the island moving towards them, closer as he calls to the Master Emerald. He and Silver take only a few things: some scuba gear from Tails, a bag with a few emergency rations in case things went far south as well as some basic medical supplies, and a single chaos emerald. The resistance base only had the one, and the energy of it was typically incorporated into the powergrid, both as a reserve of power if the rest of the grid went down (which it already had twice before) and as a means of syphoning off its power to help keep Eggman from locating it and through it, the Resistance. 

“And you won’t give it to Eggman, no matter how nicely he asks?” Amy teased as she saw the two of them off. Knuckles rolled his eyes.

“I promise to bring it back in one piece - and if you dare say thing about ‘shards’ I’m leaving the resistance.” Knuckles growled and Amy giggled. It was a rarer sound than it used to be and Knuckles couldn’t help cracking a smile. She wrapped a hug around him and Knuckles returned it. Silver put his hand out, but Amy brushed past it to give him a hug as well. There was a moment of hesitation before Silver returned the gesture. Her eyes were damp when she pulled away.

“You better come back!” She shouted after them as they finally left the building, the metal door sliding shut behind them. He nodded at the door and headed out into the woods.

The decimated cities were overrun with robots, already only resembling mere husks of civilization, but Knuckles had planned out their course to consist mainly of heading through cities. At least there you could see the robots. The ones that were scattered throughout the forests searching for mobians on the run were more stealth-oriented, and Knuckles was better at punching things than he was sitting still and trying to figure out if there was a camouflaged robot there or not. Typically, Espio was in charge of stealth missions into the woods for poor mobians on the run. 

Knuckles tried not to notice how Silver visibly relaxed when they got to the city. It had long-since been abandoned, though Knuckles could hear some action taking place in the distance that was undoubtedly the morning team out searching for supplies. They could handle themselves, though, and Knuckles was confident in his people, so he continued running towards the sea, Silver preferring to glide through the air next to him with his telekinesis. 

“We’re going to need to start branching out soon.” Silver commented, head tilted in the direction of the sound. “We’ve got most of the canned foods, but most other foods have spoiled by now. Whenever that happened, I just moved on to the next town, but I guess we can’t move all of us.”

“That’s what the plants are for.” Knuckles said and he leapt to punch through a robot in their way that had just noticed them. Silver nodded, helping to take out some flying robots by making them crash into each other.

It was dark by the time they reached the shore. They would’ve made better time if not for all the robots in the way and, upon hearing another commotion farther from base, finding a couple of mobians getting cornered and stopped to help them, giving them a bit of their rations and directing them to the Resistance base. 

One of the abandoned shacks wasn’t so abandoned, and an old Mobian couple greeted them. An old gray cat who’d been a sailor for her entire life lived there with her wife, an equally old coyote who’d traveled here from the country. The Resistance had found them rather early on but they had refused to come to the base. The cat had replied that she had lived through many eggman attacks right here, and she was going to live through this one right here too. They had a rather impression bunker with plenty of supplies, and they let Knuckles and Silver stay the night. Silver was out like a light, but Knuckles stayed up a little longer making some semblance of conversation with the two. 

They talked about years of fighting Eggman, the feeling that this latest attack wasn’t going to end anytime soon. They talked about the weather, the effect it had on fishing and gardening and berry-gathering. Knuckles mentioned attempting to get a trade route going, swapping fish the old cat caught in return for… well he wasn’t entirely sure what for, but the coyote quickly said that they wouldn’t take anything, but would be happy to help try and get the resistance some fish. 

Knuckles slept on the roof that night. Usually he was made to sleep inside at the base, as it was safer there, but nobody could reinforce that here and he missed lying beneath the stars on clear nights like this one. There weren’t robots patrolling this part of town right now, and with any luck they wouldn’t all night. Knuckles fell asleep under the dark night sky.

He awoke the next morning to Silver shaking him awake. Knuckles grumbled and almost smacked the hedgehog. It was still dark, though the very horizon was just starting to lighten up. The old gray cat - Knuckles really should bother to learn her name - was standing next to Silver, arms crossed. 

“If you want to get out on the water, we best get heading. Less likely to run into bots this early.” She explained, and Knuckles grumbled a bit more but got up. The coyote stayed at the house, kissing the gray cat before she left and wishing her luck. 

They sailed far into the water, Molly - the gray cat - at the wheel and only stepping away occasionally to ready a few things, planning to get some fishing done while Knuckles and Silver were on the Island. Knuckles could feel the power of the Master Emerald as they got closer, a thrum, a hum, a heartbeat, an electric current that he’d been connected to his entire life. He stood at the front of the boat, arms folded, waiting until they were in the right spot and ignoring the desire to call it early, to get off this boat and get right to his island. 

He looked over at Silver, who had his eyes closed and small smile on his face, clearly enjoying the boat ride immensely. It must be almost other worldy, to have grown up in a world of fire and now to fear mist on your face, surrounded by a huge body of water.

“Silver… do you know how to swim?” Knuckles asked, the thought only now occurring to him. Silver opened his eyes and looked at Knuckles sheepishly.

“Uh… no?” 

Knuckles barked a laugh that startled Silver, and that just made him laugh more.

“All you hedgehogs are the same.” He said when he had finally stopped, wiping a tear from his eye. Silver looked like he wanted to say something to that, but Knuckles stiffened sharply.

“Stop the boat! We’re here!” He shouted, running back to Molly. 

“Must be a pretty small island.” She teased as the boat slowed down, looking out at the empty waters around them. Knuckles heart hammered in his chest, being so close to his island after so long. Knuckles grabbed his bag, pulling out the scuba gear and tossing one to Silver.

“Wait! You didn’t say I needed to know how to swim!” Silver protested, suddenly looking nervous. Knuckles gave another bark of a laugh, pulling out the emerald.

“Don’t worry, it’s more sinking than swimming.” 

Silver peered out at the deep, endless-looking water. Knuckles grabbed his hand and, before Silver could do anything to stop him, jumped into the ocean - and then was immediately lifted out of it by Silver’s telekinesis. Knuckles fixed the hedgehog with a glare.

“The point of coming out here was to get into the water.” Knuckles pointed out.

“But what if I drown?” Silver’s gaze stayed on the water. Knuckles sighed and rolled his eyes.

“That’s what the scuba gear is for. Now put it in your mouth and lets get going.” 

Knuckles held the chaos emerald aloft, closing his eyes and making an effort to shut out the power of the Master Emerald and focusing on the one in his hand. All it takes it just… to pull…

Knuckles broke through Silver’s telekinesis as the power from the chaos emerald filled him and he dove into the water. Silver made a muffled squawking sound but Knuckles paid it no mind as he shifted some of the energy to Silver so that he, too, would be able to handle diving so far down so fast. Sure, Knuckles could’ve brought the island closer to the surface, or even all the way to the surface, but he was already paranoid about Eggman finding out where he’d hidden the island, he didn’t want to risk making it any easier. He looked back only once to see how Silver was fairing. ‘Terrified’ seemed the best word, Silver looking like he was doing his best to scream through his scuba mask. 

Knuckles knew that the water around them should be getting colder now, but the effect of the emerald was enough to keep them warm. The weren’t immune the darkness that started to surround them, though, as the water between them and the sun let less and less light through. But then there, in the distance, an unearthly green glow. 

The two of them broke through the bubble surrounding Angel Island. Knuckles released his hold on the emerald’s power and returned it to his back as he glided down to the surface of the submerged island. Silver followed behind, removing his scubagear and having it float around him like moons orbiting a planet. 

“Wow, it’s… green.”

“It’s not usually glowing.” Knuckles huffed as he landed on the ground, taking off his gear as well and shoving everything back into his bag. It was possible Silver had meant all the foliage on the planet, but Knuckles doubted it. He was far more likely to be referencing the green glow that seemed to come from the ground. It was the guardian’s first time seeing the island since he’d sent it down to the depths of the ocean, and he knelt down to rub and the illuminated grass. Ah, yes, he could feel it. The island was always steeped with the energy of the Master Emerald, and now it was glowing, acting as a light source for the animals still on the island and giving the vegetation what it needed to live, like sunlight coming from the ground. Knuckles had felt something shift in the island after he’d sent it down here, but hadn’t been sure what it was other than something good.

“Come on, my place is this way.” 

Silver stayed close behind Knuckles as they set off into the jungles of Angel Island, Knuckles able to easily avoid any traps they crossed and frowning when some of them looked damaged. He found himself making a mental list of chores before having to physically stop himself. There wouldn’t be time for chores today, or tomorrow, or perhaps ever again. They had a mission, a reason for being down here, and Knuckles was going to complete it no matter how much that tile that  _ should’ve had spikes shooting out of it goddamnit what’s wrong  _ was bothering him. Silver seemed to be making an effort to stay close to Knuckles, but it was hard to keep track of him considering half the time he wasn’t even bothering to walk so that Knuckles could quietly and almost subconsciously track his footsteps. The echidna would turn around every so often to make sure the hedgehog was still there, and it was a good thing he did because sometimes he wasn’t. 

Silver was absolutely loving the flora of the island, constantly staring at leaves and flowers and at one point lying on the ground and staring at the blades of grass. Knuckles would stop and wait, tapping his foot if Silver was really taking so long to get over that, yes, that is a leaf, very good. But he couldn’t bring himself to actually say anything. Silver looked happier than he had in weeks, and who was Silver to take that away from him? He’d take the time to let the Master Emerald’s energy fill his senses, an odd almost-language as it told him without words how the island was doing, what had happened while he was away, how much it missed its guardian. How it understood that he was going to leave again.

“Whoa, are these ruins?” 

Knuckles opened his eyes, not entirely sure when he had closed them, so see Silver was no longer staring at a flower but rather running his hands over old and worn stone that had moss and vines growing up it. It was one of the smaller structures, more destroyed than it was whole, and Knuckles had pieced together that it had probably been a house. A big house, but a house nonetheless. 

“Yeah.” Knuckles replied, not offering anything else up. Silver nodded slowly, floating higher into the air and looking down at it from above.

“I’m guessing… house. Like a big house. Maybe for a meeting? For a lot of people? Or maybe…” Silver trailed off, floating back over to where Knuckles was and starting to walk around the perimeter. 

“How did you know that?” Knuckles said, once his slight bafflement had passed. Silver shrugged.

“It’s a little game I used to play back, uh, home. You know, looking at the ruined remains of places and trying to figure out what they were. What is this anyway? An old house of yours?” Silver finally looked back at Knuckles, face nothing but honest curiosity. Silver was undoubtedly apart of the group of people Knuckles trusted, but sometimes he forgot that Silver hadn’t been there as long as, say, Sonic or Tails or Amy. Mostly in the sense that Silver asked questions about things that the others either already knew the answers to or knew better than to ask. 

Knuckles stared at the old stones, worn with age and time and years of abandonment. 

“It wasn’t mine.” He replied first. Silver looked confused, and Knuckles could practically see the kid going over all the times Knuckles had said that he lived alone on his island, that nobody ever came here and if they did Knuckles ensured they never stayed long. “C’mon, we’ve still got some ground to cover.”

He started walking again and could hear the shifting air as Silver quickly glided through the air to catch up and then landed behind Knuckles, feeting shuffling through the grass. 

“Was it… you parent’s?” Silver said, casting out a line to fish for some information. Knuckles’ hands clenched into fists and swallowed down the knee-jerk growl to get off his island. Silver didn’t know, he was bound to ask sooner or later, right? Silver, to his own credit, seemed to noticed he’d crossed some kind of line. “Sorry. Um… I never knew mine. So…” He trailed off again, much more awkwardly this time. 

“There were once other echidnas.” Knuckles started, more grunt than words, and Silver walked up right next to him, looking already enraptured by his words. “Other tasked with guarding the Master Emerald. But they all died out. Since then, there’s never been more than one guardian at a time.” 

“Then how were you born?” Silver asked, seemingly unable to keep his curiosity bottled up but also have the grace to slap his hands over his mouth like he was surprised the question had come out.

“Don’t know. Don’t really care.” Knuckles said, and lied, like he hadn’t thought the same thing over and over again throughout his life. Silver seemed to accept that, though, and things were quiet but for distant rustling bushes as the animals of the island milled around, keeping out of their way. They were usually rather friendly, used to Knuckles presence, but Silver was a newcomer and must’ve made them wary again. Wary like Knuckles used to be - still is - of strangers.

They neared the Emerald, but instead of ascending the stone steps up to the gem, Knuckles veered down into one of the openings, where he’d been living for some years now. The floor was dirty and had more dead leaves on it than Knuckles usually allowed. There was a layer of dust on everything, and Knuckles brushed it off everything he could as he passed, even knowing that it was an ultimately futile effort since they’d be leaving shortly. 

His bed was unmade, untouched from when he’d rushed out after the distress call from the others, blanket thrown on the floor. Small rodents had always known better than to come in here, whether a fear of Knuckles or something to do with the Master Emerald, Knuckles didn’t know and quite frankly didn’t really care. He wondered how long that would last, how long until something came in here and started tearing about his room for bedding. Some fruits sat on a table, dried out and rotten and certainly inedible and Knuckles took the time to throw them out to his garden. Weeds were starting to overrun it, though the crops themselves seemed to be doing well. They wouldn’t be ready for harvest for perhaps another month, though. Knuckles made a useless note to try coming back here then, even knowing that leaving the Resistance again would be hard for everybody involved and he’d probably end up pushing off the trip until the end of time. 

Silver didn’t rifle through Knuckles house, thank Chaos, but he did find his way to seed storage and was looking them over, not ‘touching’ any, but Knuckles didn’t miss how a few of the seeds had that gentle teal glow around them, like Silver was just seconds away from lifting them up and examining them. Silver’s telekinesis and the dim glowing gems in the walls provided the room with a low light to see by, but Knuckles had always seen easily in such dark settings. 

“They’re seeds of everything that grows on the island.” Knuckles explained, going off to the side of the room where the old paper sat, a guide of the plants, descriptions and uses for them. He hadn’t looked it over in years now, having memorized it and gotten to understand the plants himself. “We won’t need all of them. They’re not all edible, or particularly useful.”

“Why do you have them then?” Silver squinted in the darkness, having a bit more trouble seeing than Knuckles did.

“I look after my island.” He replied simply. He didn’t mention landslides that had knocked down groves of trees and how he’d carefully planted more, watched them grow aided by the Master Emerald’s power. He didn’t talk about Eggman landing on his island, polluting the soil. His favorite flowers had almost died out that day, all of them withering - practically  _ melting  _ \- from contact with the dangerous purple liquid that had taken months for the Emerald and Knuckles to deal with. He’d had a few back at his home, with a few precious seeds that he carefully regrew, constantly paranoid those would die too and the island would be one plant less.

He picked some fruits, some vegetables, anything that looked like it’d be useful. Even with what they took, there were plenty of seeds left for if-  _ when  _ he came back.

“The Master Emerald usually helps them grow. Speeds them along.” Knuckles told Silver. “But most of these shouldn’t take more than a month or two until we’ll have something edible.”

Knuckles stared at the seeds, rolling them around the palm of his hand. It felt like defeat, standing here with these, taking from his island rather than bettering it, leaving his island once more instead of staying to maintain it, to do his job. 

But he looked up at Silver, looking happier, more hopeful than he had in months, and Knuckles thought for just a few seconds that perhaps things were going to be, if not okay, survivable.

oOo

When Eggman is defeated, they throw a party. The base is an absolute mess afterwards, resistance members sleeping anywhere and everywhere. Sonic himself - miraculously alive - is actually still awake, eating a chili dog. He gives Knuckles a nod, smiling, and though he looks tired Knuckles knows that the hedgehog won’t be sleeping anytime soon. If Knuckles were a betting man, he’d say it would be a long time before Sonic could be convinced to sleep inside again, especially in a metal building like this one. 

Knuckles isn’t really the Resistance Leader anymore, not after tonight. Not with Sonic back, the war won, mobians finally freed. But he can’t stop himself from doing his nightly patrol, of walking past every room and making sure people were okay, than any injuries were bandaged and nobody was left awake and alone during a nightmare - not that he was great at consoling people, but he was better than nothing and sometimes all one needed was another person to sit quietly beside him. 

He came to their greenhouse - long since expanded beyond the small single room - and found Silver on his hands and knees, digging up plants by their roots. There was a stack of the unearthed plants, one or two of each kind, and Knuckles just stood there for a while watching Silver work. 

“We never got to eat those, did we?” He finally said. Silver glanced up but didn’t seem surprised at Knuckles’ appearance. 

“No. But I want to try them. You made them sound good.” Silver’s gloves were a deep earthy brown, as was much of his fur. You could always tell when the kid was hurt. Knuckles was often able to hide it from others, and even Amy often tried to brush off aid, saying that it was just a darker pink spot of fur that everybody knew was a lie. 

Knuckles knelt down next to Silver, giving the hedgehog a smile. 

“Let me help. I’ve always been a good digger.” 


End file.
